Automatic coal-feeder.



F. S. SEYMOUR AUTOMATIC COAL FEEDER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 20, 1916.

Patented Apr. 24, 1917.

WITNESSES AORNEYS DERICK SANFORD SEYMOUR, OF MANCHESTER, IOWA.

AUTOMATIC COAL-FEEDER.

Speeification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 24, 1191?.

Application filed. May 20, 1916. Serial No. 98,711.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK SANFORD SEYMOUR, a citizen of the United States, and residing in Manchester, in the county of Delaware and State of Iowa, United States of "America, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Coal- Feeders, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

An object of my invention is to provide an automatic coal feeder particularly adapted for feeding coal to small heating stoves, ranges, furnaces, house boilers, tank heaters, feed cookers, and the like, in which there is not a very large consumption of coal.

his a further object of my invention to provide an automatic feed, the action of which may be re ulated so that the period of operation wil extend over any desired number of hours.

It is also an object of my invention to provide forthe automatic feeding of a small quantity of coal during the early hours of the night only, or for the feeding of a given quantity of coal during only the later hours of the night or early morning.

Further objects of my invention are to promote economy in the consumption of fuel, to minimize or entirely obviate the production of smoke andsoot, to provide a feed that will result in an even fire without the use of a thermostat; to provide an attachment that will be effective with either hard or soft coal; to save labor in attending tothe firing of a stove or furnace; to promote cleanliness in lessening the dirt re sulting from the burning of coal, particularly bituminous coal; to prevent explosions in stoves due to the accumulation of explosive gases therein, to feed fast or' slow, and to prevent overheating of stoves and furnaces.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a .part of this specification in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of a heating stove having my invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof;

.Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 33, Fig. 1'

Fig a is a I a fragmentary vertical seetion showing a slightly different form of the inlatter or be made up as a separate attachment applicable to stoves, furnaces, etc., already manufactured.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 to 8, the heater 10 is, in general, of known form, having-a cylindrical body. At the top of the heater is mounted a vertical shaft 11 secured to the lower end of which is a preferably concave platform or tray 12,'constituting a coal reeiver which is thus suspended in the stove at the top and adapted to rotate with the rotation of said shaft 11.

The top 13 of the stove has a larger diameter than the body 10 thereof to accommodate a tray 12 having ample coal-carrying capacity without increasing the size of the body l0.- The tray 12 thus projects beyond the body 10 and in order to direct coal passing from the edge of the said tray. inwardly to the heater of the furnace body and spread the coal, a lateral extension 14 of the top 13 is formed with an inclined bottom, constituting a deflecting plate, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, onto which plate the coal is discharged from the tray. The extension 14 has a removable cap or closure 15 to afiord access to the tray 12.

The tray 12 is revolved in the manner hereinafter described. To sweep the coal from the tray as it revolves, I provide a blade 16., the hub 17 of which is loosely sleeved on the shaft 11 at the upper side of the tray. The sweep blade 16 is held'from turning with the shaft 11 and tray 12 by reason of the outer end thereof projecting into the extension 14: and engaging a side wall thereof as will be understood from Figs l and 3. The sweep 16 is preferably curved longitudinally and the tray 12 is re volved, in a direction to bring the coal against the said curved face of the sweep.

The shaft 11 turns in a bearing 18 on the stove top and-in a bearing 18 formed on the top of a housing 19. f The shaft has fixed thereto above the bearing 18, a bevel wheel 20 meshing with which is a bevel pinion 21 on a horizontal shaft 22 which extends through the housing 19 and turns in a bearing on a standard 22 or equivalent, on the top 13. The shaft 22 has a lateral lever arm 23 on which is a weight 24 adjustably secured on said arm by a set screw 25 whereby to shift the weight for varying the effective leverage of the. arm. Thus. the weighted shaft 22 constitutes a weight motor to turn the shaft 11, the arm 22-; of said shaft being adapted to be raised so that the gravitational force of the weight 24 will drive the shaft. Arm 23' is secured to a disk 23 loose onshaft said disk having a pawl 23 engaging a ratchet 22-3" shaft.

Meshing also, with the pinion 20, is a. bevel pinion 26 on the spindle of a clock train, designated generally by the numeral 27, said clock train constituting a governor for the shaft 11 and tray 12. The pallet 28 of the clock train extends to the outside of the housing 19 and embraces the pendulum '29 which is hung on a stud 30 on the housing 19 and is provided with an adjustable weight 31. here shown as secured by a set screw 32 to vary the power of the pendulum in regulating the speed of the shaft lever.

In the use of the feeder, the tray is charged with a supply of coal through the door 15, or other suitable doorsor, lids, provided in the top 13, such as the auxiliary doors as indicated at 15. Figs. 1 and 2. The amount of coal placed on the tray will depend on the weather conditions. The weight arm 23 having been swung upwardlythrough any'desired angle gives effective service in turning the shaft 11. The pendulum is started and the tray 12 will then revolve slowly, thereby forcing the coal against the relatively fixed sweep 16 whereby the said sweep will deflect the coal laterally from the edge of the tray into the extension 14- to be deflected by the inclined bottom plate J thereof inwardly to the fire box of the stove or furnace. Lowering the pendulum weight or putting a less'quantity of coal on the tray will slow down the feed and raising the pendulum weight or charging the tray with a full supply of coal will .result in an increased feed.

In order to feed only in the arly part of the night, for instance, the motor weight is raised only slightly and thus the feed will be during a correspondingly short period. The feeder may thus be arranged to operate up to midnight for example, whereuponthe motor will stop since the weight will have reached its perpendicular posit/ion. If it is desired to feed coal only in the latter part of the night, the lnotor weight, at say 11:00 o'clock, is raised a suflicientheight and the coal is placed on that part of the tray which will approach the sweep 16 at say 2:00 o'clock, the remainder of. the tray being clearof coal that otherwise would be discharged in the earlier hours.

fixed I on said The revolving disk form of the feed tray operates with great ease and avoids the liability of the coal clogging, besides avoids the giving of an unusual appearance to "the stove.

In the form shown in Figsml and 5, the

top 13 is adapted to'be placed on the body '10 of a stove or furnace. said top having :1

depending neck 10 to fit within the said body. In the. first described construction, an opening 33 is provided in the stove body at the juncture of the top 13) for connection of a Stovepipe, whereas in Fig. l. a neck or lateral collar 83 is provided .on the top 121 to receive the stove pipe. The shaft 11 in the modified form is suspended in the same manner as in the first construction, there being indicated in Fig. l the lower bearings 18, a portion of the housing 1!) and a'part of the clock train 27, and also a portion of the bracket 22. r

The shaft 11 carrying the tray 12 is eccentrically positioned with respect to the 7 body 10 and a deflector plate 14 is provided on the lower portion of the top 13 to extend beneath the said tray fordefl'ecting the coal and spreading the same inthe fire box. The curved sweep 1G in the modified construction extends at its outer end adjacent to a stop lug or bracket 14* provided on the top 13 in lieu of the side wall of the extension 14:.

Having thus described my invention I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. An automatic feeder for stoves, including'a tray, a vertical shaft carrying said tray at its lower end and connected therewith at the approximate center of thetray, means above the tray to revolubly mount said shaftin a stove at the top so that the tray will be suspended on the shaft below the shaft-sup mrting means. a relatively fixed blade loosely sleeved on the shaft above the tray, means to prevent turning of the blade with the shaftand an inclined defieetor relatively fixed at the outer end of the blade and below the tray and inwardly disposed to deflect the material inwardly beneath the tray.

2. An automatic feeder for stoves. including a dished tray. a vertical shaft to the lower end of which said tray is fixed at the approximate center of said tray, means above the tray to revolubly mount said shaft in the stove at the top with the tray suspended below the shaft-supporting means, a relatively fixed blade sleeved on theshaft above the tray, the said blade being longitudinally concaved and having its concave surface disposed reversely to the direction of rotation of the tray, means to prevent turning of the blade with the shaft, and an inclined deflector, adjacent to the outer end of the blade below the tray and inwardly disposed to deflect the material inwardly beneath the tray.

3. The combination with a stove open at the top for the reception of fuel a tray disposed transversely at the open top of the stove and extending approximately across the area of the said open top, a vertical shaft to the lower end of which the tray is secured at the approximate center of the tray, means above the open top of the stove and above the said tray revolubly supporting the shaft and suspending the tray above the said open top of the stove, an inclined deflector on the stove at aside thereof, and beneath the tray, and so disposed as to deleet the material inwardly beneath the tray, a blade loose on the shaft and extending laterally, the outer end of the blade'being disposed adjacent to the said deflector to direct material from the tray to the deflector,- and means to prevent the turning of thebla-de with the shaft and tray.

4. An automatic feeder for stoves, including a fuel-carrying tray, a shaft on which said tray is carried, means tomount the shaft in a stove at the top, and optionally. variable means to revolve said'shaft to cause the tray to feed fuel over a desired period of time, said means comprising a drive shaft in driving engagement with the first shaft, an arm loose on the drive shaft and Weighted to gravitationally move through different predetermined angles, and means to actuate the drive shaft by the gravitational movement of the said arm.

FREDERICK SANFORD SEYMOUR. 

